Avoid ‘collateral damage’ in south Pasco

Published: April 10, 2014

I have been reading your many reports on the proposal by the current administration and FDOT to construct a 33-mile elevated toll road in southern Pasco County, which will only serve a select few and have a negative effect on nearby residents who will suffer health-related issues brought on by tons of pollution dumped on their area. The collateral damage will be a community divided and stripped of its unique character, with falling property values, closed businesses, and an ecological disaster.

Rather than have a foreign company come here to construct and operate such an undesirable endeavor that will become obsolete in a couple of decades, our politicians need to do the admirable thing and create a system that is available to all residents, cost-effective, and most of all, free to all. What I am referring to is a state-of-the-art mass transit system, including bus rapid transit and light rail. This will allow thousands of people the option of not having to drive into town every day and avoid creating even more pollution.

This type of system was endorsed by the Urban Land Institute as much preferred over expressways and is in keeping with Pasco County’s master plan of walkable communities and conservation

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